See the First Vuse E-Cig Commercial, Reynolds American's Return to TV

Reynolds American, the second-largest tobacco company in the U.S., is running its first TV advertising in decades next month, when it will start running a commercial in Colorado for its new e-cigarette Vuse. The company, which makes Camel cigarettes, is test marketing Vuse in the Rocky Mountain State.

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The Vuse commercial strikes a decidedly different tone from other e-cigarette TV ads, which have leaned on celebrities, popular music and recast iconography associated with smoking's heyday. Instead the ad draws upon the technology behind the product, resembling work from a cellphone marketer more than a tobacco seller -- right down to promises about where the device was designed and assembled.

David Howard, a spokesman for Reynolds American, said the Vuse ads will run on TV outlets throughout Colorado. The ad buy, which was handled by Mullen, focuses on adult tobacco consumers, Mr. Howard said. Chi and Partners, the agency of record for Vuse, took care of the creative.

"It's about innovation," Mr. Howard said of the commercial. "There are no celebrities and no shots of people using it. The product is the celebrity."